NHTSA study indicates hybrids have higher pedestrian crash rates
A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that hybrid vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents with pedestrians and bicyclists under certain scenarios. According to state-level accident data, 77 of 8,387 hybrid vehicles (that's .9 percent) were involved in crashes with pedestrians and 48 (.6 percent) were found to have been in accidents with bicyclists.
By way of comparison, 3,578 of 559,703 non-hybrid vehicles (.6 percent) were involved in pedestrian accidents and 1,862 (.3 percent) were involved with bicyclists. Tellingly, the NHTSA data shows that hybrid vehicles are twice as likely as non-hybirds to be involved in pedestrian or bicyclist accidents at low speeds when the internal combustion engine is not running.
These statistics are not a complete representation of all accidents nationwide, and NHTSA is quick to point out that additional research is necessary before any final conclusions can be made. Still, this is valuable data that "should serve as a guide when designing future HEV pedestrian and bicyclist crash prevention programs."
[Source: NHTSA - PDF via Consumer Reports]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
zamafir 2:23PM (11/08/2009)
i'm curious what the cause is, i'm going to suggest the drivers. I've been hit twice in the last ten years by just two cars, both hyrbids. They're kind of the antithesis of the enthusiast car, lots of delightful little tech displays to distract, limited visibility out the back and marginal along the sides, numb feedback, lots of insulating the driver from the act of driving - combined with the sort who look at cars as purely transport mechanisms and actually don't like to drive and you've got a recipe for pedestrian hunting.
That or too many prius drivers have been watching the office
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larry a 2:54PM (11/08/2009)
damn, how did you get hit?
James 2:55PM (11/08/2009)
What a way to stereotype an entire group of drivers!
My father has never been in a major accident in his life. He was interested in the 3rd gen Prius to save money on driving around town.
There are plenty of drivers who think of cars more as appliances, plenty of vehicles stuffed with technology, and perhaps even more vehicles with poor visibility out back. (I mean, have you seen the average CUV?) That does a poor job of explaining the coorelation.
A much more likely cause would be that... hybrid drivers are more likely to drive in the CITY, where hybrid systems get the best gas mileage, and where there are more pedestrians, rather than on highways. Right?
MajorGeek 3:18PM (11/08/2009)
LOL, you have been hit by a car TWICE when most of us never had... so of course you blame the driver. Ill bet you were on a bicycle wearing spandex, too? ;)
ebleyes 3:39PM (11/08/2009)
Sometimes people don't hear a hybrid coming when it's in low speed or on charging mode.
Nathan 3:43PM (11/08/2009)
I've actually been hit by a Prius. The driver intentionally ran into me. He was "blocking the box" at an intersection when my "walk" light turned green. I began to cross as the car in front of him moved. He gets pissed that I'm walking and proceeds to run into me. On purpose.
Ren Nagata 7:03PM (11/08/2009)
thats a narrow way to think. i drive a hybrid highlander and i think they are amazing because of all the technology that goes into them. i think its amazing how people think of stuff like hybrid drivetrains.
the4thheat 12:57AM (11/09/2009)
If you've been hit twice as a pedestrian maybe you should start looking before you cross the damned street.
Mike 2:02AM (11/09/2009)
I don't know, maybe I'm biased, but whenever I see someone make a real d-bag move, they're in a Prius... Maybe it's just that there are so many around where I live, but I do think that they attract a certain kind of driver.
Tagbert 10:34AM (11/09/2009)
Mike, you may be predisposed to notice such behavior from a hybrid if you hold negative views towards hybrids. I dislike larger SUVs and find that I notice d*ckish moves by SUV owners more often than other types of vehicles.
Gardiner Westbound 2:26PM (11/08/2009)
Perhaps the solution is for pedestrians to look before walking into traffic.
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steveranieri 2:51PM (11/08/2009)
Umm there's no one you can sue if you don't look before being hit. Why should I be responsible for looking before crossing the road?!?!? How dare you!
Judy Zik 3:09PM (11/08/2009)
No kidding. This is what is called junk science. It doesn't take into account other factors like for instance the fact that Hybrids are best suited for city traffic which is why a large percentage of drivers use them in the city. A large number of them are also now in taxi fleets. So guess what? Vehicles driven in the city are more likely to hit pedestrians. It wont be long though before the lawmakers jump on the bandwagon and make all Hybrid and Electric vehicles make noise. My personal vote is for the sound the Jetson's car made. Of course pedestrians and cyclists will continue to use iPods so they still wont hear a damn thing. But when they jay walk out in front of you it will be the evil car's fault.
Monica Dickey 10:33PM (11/08/2009)
Yeah. Since they point out a lot of this happens when the Hybrid is in non-combustion mode it seems pretty obvious that this is because no one hears the cars coming. I am sure there are a lot of near-hits that are stopped at the last second only because the ped or biker hears the car coming and either gets out of the way or makes their presence known just in time.
I'm thinking at some point Hybrid cars may be fitted with some sort of noise making device (it could be a pleasant hum noise or something) so that they're not creepy ghost cars when they're slowing down.
dal20402 2:27PM (11/08/2009)
Uh, guys, correlation != causation.
Of course hybrids are going to hit more pedestrians and bicycles. Because the city is where hybrids have the greatest advantages, they are overwhelmingly driven in the city where there are more pedestrians and bicycles to hit.
This would be like blaming single-speed bikes for the fact that messengers crash a lot.
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compy386 3:11PM (11/08/2009)
http://xkcd.com/552/
Shadyman 3:34PM (11/08/2009)
Exactly. And how many bicycles are there on freeways? :p
paul34 4:29PM (11/08/2009)
Shh. Rational analysis is not allowed. What we need are more laws to make hybrids sound like straight pipe harleys, and airbags on hoods. And then we'll blame Toyota.
Will jones 4:52PM (11/08/2009)
Bingo.
sdcarnut 2:35PM (11/08/2009)
I never look both ways before crossing a street I just listen for traffic, (sarcasm)
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